Re: Drill-press for milling?

["Metlicka Marc" <mystuffs-at-orwell-dot-net> (by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>)]

using a drill press for milling is very practical, the things to make
sure about before the attempt is that the drill press is anchored
solidly, the table is locked as stable as possible "i used a piece of
flat 1/4" plate bolted to the plate and to a very stationary object, the
heavier the better" this reduces chatter. if you have the wherewithal
grind chip breakers on the end mill, i used a 4" angle grinder with a
1/8" carborundum disk. do not take large cut depths, .002" or .003" at a
pass. mount any round object in a v block, this can be made from heavy
angle iron with lighter angle welded on each side to make a square
sides. use a slow rotation speed for your arbor" about 100 rpm to start
then increase or decrease accordingly until you find a good cut.
even though your drill press is heavy duty check the arbor dia., this
will bend at any chatter from the mill. a bent arbor will make the drill
press drill larger holes then the drill bit size for the rest of its
life. lock the rotor into the v block with as many t clamps as you can.
use a locator across the whole rotor to assure perpendicular mounting in
the v block, shim accordingly. make your first pass very light to assure
your set up is cutting evenly on the full axis. measure the width of the
first light pass with dial calipers, if it is even across the full cut
your in business. lock every thing as tight as possible, then set your
cut depth with the arbor advance wheel and use two hose clamps on the
arbor it self to eliminate the dreaded chatter. feed very slowly using a
2 point in one point out, two point in one point out movement. if your
end mills are not wide enough that you must y axis " or x axis i get
them confused"  over you have to make sure that your first pass is
perpendicular to the table. use a good water based coolant and blow all
chips away as you cut, they may gouge the rotor or worse chip your end
mill.
this sounds like a lot off work but i have milled many items with my
drill press and it isn't that industrial orientated. you should get good
results with care. it is a very feasible endeavor.
regards     marc